Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena on Saturday ordered the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to come up with a concrete timeline for developing a “world-class” nursery in north-west Delhi.
According to the press release from Raj Niwas, a 25-acre plot situated in Khoja Wala Bagh at Ashok Vihar was identified for the purpose during a site inspection drive by the L-G.
The proposed nursery, will not only serve as a common and extensive resource pool for sourcing horticultural requirements of the city but also a favoured destination for eco-tourism, Raj Niwas said.
“The L-G issued instructions to the DDA — the agency owning the identified land — to put forth a plan of action with concrete timelines in a week’s time,” a senior Raj Niwas official said.
“The idea is also to prevent degradation of unused land, check encroachment of land and create a green space where different tenets of sustainable development could co-exist,” the official added.
Spread over 25 acres of existing fallow and wasteland, the proposed nursery, once developed, will have different varieties of indigenous, medicinal, exotic, ecology and topography-compliant flora available for use by government agencies as well as citizens.
To attract more visitors, several features such as landscaped greens, a cafeteria, walkways, public utilities and an inherent flower display have been proposed for the facility.
“Being developed in the midst of the Wazirpur industrial area, this green patch will go on to serve as the much-needed oxygenating lungs of the hitherto polluted neighbourhood,” the official said, adding that a heavy footfall is expected from residents of surrounding areas, including Ashok Vihar, Wazirpur, Shalimar Bagh, Azadpur and other residential colonies.
Situated right beside the JailorWala Bagh ‘in-situ slum rehabilitation’ project being carried out under the DDA’s flagship Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna Scheme (PMAY), the nursery will provide an “enhanced eco-friendly environmental experience” to the “most deprived sections”, the official said.
